Self-filling fountain-pen.



T. P. GAYNOR.

SELF FILLING FOUNTAIN PEEN. APPLICATION FILED APR.25,1910.

Patented Nov. 29, 1910.

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' SELF FILLING FOUNTAIN PEN.

APPLICATION FILED APR.25, 1910.

Patented Nov. 29, 1910. I

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\ sntr-rinnme FOUNTAIN-PEN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 25, 1910. Serial N 557,394.

Patented Nov. 29, 1910.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS F. GAYNOR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, New York city, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Self-Filling Fountain-Pens, 0 which the I following is a specification.

This invention relates to self-filling foune tain pens, of the class having compressible elastic ink reservoirs within their handles which are operated by means of presser. bars resting, upon the reservoirs having finger pieces extending therefrom through slots in the handles which when pressed downwardly cause the reservoirs to supply the ink the pen points as desired, or else by makmg'a partial vacuum in the reservoirs after the pressure thereon has been released-to cause a new'supply of ink to enter the reservoirs when the latter are in need of refillingand the pen points dipped into a body of ink for the purpose, in a manner now generally well. known to persons using devices of this na ture.

The invention consists in providing the finger piece with a guard or shield alongside 1 of the finger piece and in' movable relation therewith, so that the degree of pressure upon the finger piece can be regulated and the flow or supp y of "ink to the pen point controlled at will and incidentallythe guard .serving to protect the finger'piece against accidental d pression and consequent ejection of the might beundesirable.

The object of the invention,'isto' provide a pen of this class with a quick-acting means of controlling and regulatlng the supply and flow ofink into and from the reservoir and. by quick and simple manipulations of the device and at the same time properly protecting the finger piece against accidental depression and ink discharge resultingtherefrom. Self-filling pens of this compressible reservoir and presser bar-finger piece constructionv are now the. quickest actin and simplest of manipulation, of all's'ty es of self-filling. pens, andare very popular, but all designs so far as is known are provided with and re uire. means for locking the fin er piece an presser bar against accidental ink discharge from the reservoir, and they.

are not providedswith means for partialdepression ofthe finger piece and presser' bar 'compan ing drawin s forming a of, and in which sim ilar letters re plained more fully hereafter. I transverse section through the centers of the :finger' piece and guard seen in'Fig. 5, and showingthat the slit in the sleeve extends to from the reservoir when it -Fig. 8 is-a ,transverse section 0 at all, so that moving the locking 'mecha nismsand manipulating the finger pieces takes considerable time and careful manipulation'relatively, and the flow of the ink from the reservoir to the pen point cannot be controlled and regulated as well as it should be, and it is to obviate these objections and meetthe requlrements of a simpler, quicker acting and better device, that ;this invention is produced.

The nature and objects --ofl'the invention w1ll be better understood from the followingspecificationtaken in'connection with the acpart thereer to similar parts throughout the several :views.

In the draw1ngsz-Figure 1, represents-a side elevation of a pen partly in section rovidedwith this improvement. Fig. 2, 1s a:

transverse section 0 Fig. 1, throughthe finger plece and guard and the central portions thereof. Fig. 3, is a plan orstop view of 1, looking downwardly upon the finger piece and guard and its moving sleeve connection. Fig. 4, is .a transverse section ofgF-ig. -3, through the centers of the finger piece and guard, only that the guard is shown as being moved away to the limit from the finger piece. Flg. 5,. is a: side elevation offinger piece the top of which has a. curvature and length nearly equal to that of .the uard from that shown in ig: 3, as will be ex- Fig. 6, is a the end thereof. Fig. 7, is a top view of a finger plece and guard having a narrow sleeve connection and the barrelof the pen having .limiting grooves therein that limit the rotation of the-guard away from the fin er piece.

through; the vcenter thereof and showing how.the-t hninb or finger of'a user of the device can cailse'a partial depression of the finger piece and a consequent supplyof ink td'the pen: point whenever wanted without moving; thegnard away from the finger piece; .EigaB, is a side view of finger and fi. only that the guard is provigdd withaidi ange' over the finger piece and Fig. 7-,

and the shape of the sleeve. slightly di erent piece andguard similarato, those shown in' thumb nail can be inserted and the finger I the drawings, the guard is shown asbeing piece thereby depressed without uncovering the fin er piece. Fig. 10, is a transverse section 0 Fig. 9, through the center thereof. Fig. 11, is a side elevation of a finger piece and guard slitted longitudinally so that a part of the guard is each side of the finger piece, and in which case the guard with its controlling sleeve is arranged to be moved lengthwise over the barrel instead of rotatively as in the other designs. Fig. 12, is a transverse section of Fig. 11, .on the line a-b, therein, and showing the slitted construction of the guard and finger piece centrally located therein. Fi 13, is a top view of Figs.- 11 and 12, and s owing the finger piece and guard in the closed position, Fig. 11 showing these members in the open position instead. Fig. 14," is an enlarged view of Fig. 4:, and shows a depression in the surface of the barrel into which the guard enters and becomes secured against accidental rotation when alongside of the fingerdpiece. Fig. 15, is a perspective view of t e esign seen in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, with the guard drawn away from the finger piece and the latter being depressed by the thumb of a person about to com ress the ink reservoir as in the case of refil ing the latter, or the like. Figs. 16 and 17, are perspective views of the guard in one and two sections respectively, with notches therein, and extending over the top of the finger piece.

In the drawings :A represents a pen point'held within the shell B, by the plug C, having the usual ink duct CY, and the shell B, being screwed or frictionally fitted to the handle or barrel D, in the manner of general pen holder construction for pens of this class. An ink reservoir E, is secured to the inner end C of the plug C, of rubber or other compressible material and lies loosely within the cavity D, of the barrel D, and against its outer surface rests the presser bar F, having the finger piece G, secured thereto and extending outwardly through a corresponding slit in the wall of the barrel so that the resser bar can be'made to compress the in reservoir and to discharge the ink therefrom to the pen point by the depression of the finger piece from-the outside of the barrel, and all of which construction is now well known and in general use.

Unless the finger piece is. locked in position or other provision made against such a contingency, it is sometimes liable to become depressed accidentally and the ink forced out of the reservoir when not required, and this invention provides for such an emergency by arranging alongside of the finger piece the guard H, of substantially-the same shape and dimensions as those of the finger piece and as high or hi her from the outer surface of the barrel as t e finger piece projects therefrom. In the first ten figures of higher than the finger piece is from the barrel, while in the figures numbered 11 and 13, it is shown as being partly higher and partly lower than the top of the finger piece on account of the transverse notch I, in the guard which allows for a partial depression of the finger piece without necessitating the movingaway from the finger piece of the guard, as will be'more fully explained hereinafter. Now by having the top of the guard as high from the barrel as the top of the finger piece is, or higher, the finger piece cannot be depressed by anything thatwould ordinarily come against these members accidentally, as the impinging object would make contact with the top of the guard which is'non-depressive and it would take andresist the downward pressure of the said object andthus guard the finger piece against such pressure. Any such accidental depressing object would most likely be broad enough to touch the top ofthe guard as soon or before touching the top of the finger piece and thus the latter would be guarded against depression while the guard is alongside; of the finger piece. Nothing but a very thin or sharp object could be. madeto-depress the finger piece and clear the top of the guard and the adjacent surface of the barrel, as can be seen in Fig. 8, where the thumb or finger of a person is shown as trying to depress the finger piece but it can do so only very slightly on account of its resting against the top of the guard and the surface of the barrel mainly and only slightly depressing the finger piece, but which slightdepression of the finger piece is in this case one of the purposes of the invention, that is, to cause a slight depression of the presser bar and-discharge of ink from the reservoir to give a smal regulated supply of ink to the pen point whenever needed, as is frequently the case with pens of this construction. Even this remote contingency of compression of the finger piece by the pressure thereon of a sharp object, can be provided against by having a lateral flange project from the top of the guard as seen in Figs. 9 and 1O, where the guard H, has the flange H which leaves a narrow groove J, between the under surfaceH of the flange and the top Gr,- of

the fin er piece G, and into which the finger or thumb nail of a person. can be inserted, and thus made to depress the finger niece as may be desired. It has been found in practice however that the said flange is hardly ever needed as an additional precaution against accidental depression of the finger piece and that theconstruction shown in the other figures is suflicient to meet all the requirements of ordinary'practice.

Wh'enthe finger piece is to be entirely depremed however this can be done by movand Fig. 4, where the opposite ing the guard away from the finger piece sufliciently to allow this being done, and Fig. 4, shows substantially the extent that it is found necessary to separate the guard from the finger piece in such a case. Fig. 15 also in the latter and which is of the same width as the length of the sleeve and by means of wh1ch, the latter is prevented from moving endwise on the barrel while being allowed a rotatable movement around it as indicated in Fig. 4, where the dotted lines indicate the angle of rotation of the sleeve and guard. In Figs. 11, 12 and 13, however, the guard is shown as being of two sections H H secured to the sleeve K, in such a manner as to leave a slit L, between them in which the finger piece G slidably fits and projects. The sleeve K, is shown in Fig. 11, as being drawn away lengthwise u onthe barrel D from the finger iece so as to expose the latter for a ull actuation, but the finger piece can also be partly depressed by inserting the nail of the finger or thumb into the slit L, or into the notch I, seen in these figures while the guard is in the closed or guarding position seen in Fig. 13, and a partial discharge of ink obtained from the reservoir without moving the guard or its controlling sleeve at all, and which is desirable when a new supply of ink for the pen point from the reservoir is required.

The rotation of the sleeve is limited by either the guard or the-opposite edge K of the former impinging against the side of the finger piece as shown in Fig. 2 where the guard is in contact with the fin or piece, ed ge of the sleeve touches it, thereby rendering as un necessary the; use of any independent means such as a limiting slot and in arrangement in the barrel and sleeve. This feature can be provided if the sleeve is made of very thin or elastic material, however, and in Fig. 7 two short grooves M, M, in the barrel are shown in which corresponding projections from the bottom of the aid (not shown) can be made toplay and t us limit the movement of the sleeve, and thereby guard against any possible opening out of the sleeve by undue strain against theedge of is -found to be suflicient to hold the guard.

against the finger piece firmly enough to guard against accidental movement of the former from the latter, while being free enough to allow of its being drawn away when required by the grip of the thumb and finger upon the outside of the sleeve which is knurled or milled for the purpose, or the guard can also be moved to and from the finger piece by pressing the thumb or finger upon the top of the guard and also ressing it at the same time toward or away rom the finger piece. This ap lies to the movement of the sleeve whether 1t be moved rotatably as shown in Fig. 4, or slidably as indicated by the dotted lines in Figs. 11 and 13.

In case an additional grip of the sleeve upon the barrel is desired when the shield is in the closed position against the finger piece, this result can be attained by making.

such a construction and in which, the cut away portion of the'barrel is indicated at N, that is adjacent to the slot in the barrel and alongside of the finger piece, and in which depression the bottom ofthe ard and contiguous under surface of the sleeve indicated at O, springs down when the guard is placed alongside of the finger piece as indicated by the dotted lines. By making the groove P, in the barrel as seen in Figs. 11 and 13, slightlylarger in diameter at the edge P, than its general diameter is, a similar'binding effect can be obtained in that form of the invention, to get additional resistance against accidental movement of the guard away from the finger piece.

The guard moving sleeve .can be made with a broad slit as seen in Fig. 7, where it extends across the full width of thesleeve as seen at Q, or it can be as narrow as ossible so long as it is Wide enough not to a ow the edges of the sleeve to come together, and thus lose its tensional grip upon the barrel as indicated in Fig. 3, where the slit is made wide only to the extent of the width of the finger piece and allow for a suflicient amount of rotation or travel for the guard, as indicated at Rv in said figure.

From the foregoing description and ex lanation, the natureof the invention can be understood Thematter of different widths ofthefsleeve is only one of selection,

s of the finger piece, and the rotatable the question of economy of manufacture of is high enough to preventthe finger piece against ordinary accidental depression of the finger piece, and yet allow it to be manipulated when wanted to be so done, and to provide a simple means of moving the guard to and from the finger iece as may be desired, which the sleeve evice efiects as can be seen. The other principle involved is to allow the finger piece to be partially depressed without moving the guard away from the finger piece, when a small jet of ink is to be forced out to the en point, and the amount of which can lie increased to the maximum if the guard is moved to the proper degree away from the finger piece, and thusgive the depression of-the latter, the requisite regulationf and control. These two principles of operation are shown in all of the figures and are based upon having a ggard alongside of the finger piece that can moved away when necessary from the finger iece but allowing for the depression of the finger piece even when the uard is alongside of it, and the top of the ger piece being accessible for mflampu lation even with the guard against it as indicated in some of the fi res.

In Fi' 7, the extremities H, H, of the guard are shown as overlapping endwise the end edges of the finger piece as an additional safeguard against impinging objects striking the finger pieceendwise and injuring it. v

The projecting flange H in Figs. 9 and 10, which covers the top of the finger piece while allowin the latter to be operated with thefinger'nai ofa person, can be applied in any modified way tothe'form of guard shown in Figs. 11, 12 and 13, that is the top of either section of the guard (H or 11 can have a lateral projecting fiange like that of the guard H shown at H so as to cover the top of the finger piece, or the two sections can be united above the top of the finger piece making the guard integral if desired as shown in Figs. 16 and 1'2, respectively.

The notch I, in these designs, permits of the depression of the finger piece to any needed degree according to its depth without requirin the" movement of the guardawaysfroni t e finger piece, and this feature can be applied tothe guard whether it is in two sections as shown in Figs. 12 and 13, or in one piece or with the projecting flange or cover over the top of the finger piece, as referred to in the preceding para- W graph. By placing ones finger nail upon the top of the finger piece therebysecuring 'a hold uponthe latter, it can be depressed partially or fully as may be desired, without forms shown and described. This method gives in a single manipulation the ejection of the ink, or the filling of the reservoir, as may be desired, whilesecuring the protection against the accidental depression of the finger piece, all the time.

In the unlocking of the finger iece in a pen having locking rings or 0t er locking mechanisms, and the locking again operation (after thezmanipulation of the finger piece) there are two manipulations involved in addition to the finger piece manipulation, or three altogether, while by the foregoing described manipulation of this device only a single actuation of the. article is required, thus making it so far as is known, the simplest and quickest acting fountain pen in this respect, of any having a protecting member against accidental depression of the finger piece. It is a guard that fully allows for the intentional depres sion of the finger piece, and without its movement being necessary to do this, while serving to prevent accidental depression of the finger piece, at any time while in its normal position. It as a consequence, differs from all finger piece locking rings, mechanisms or other fin er piece binders, and also from other guar s or ,devices that do not allow for the depression of the finger piece while in their normal covering or guarding relation therewith. The sleeve connection serves as a means of connecting the guard to the barrel of'the holder, as well as to give it a movable connection therewith, but movement of the guard is not a necessary feature, but desirable as a convenient incidental feature.

- From the foregoing description, the operation of the device can be understood without further explanation, as otherwise this pen is put together, the reservoir filled or the ink discharged therefrom by the manipulation of the presser bar mechanism, as with other pens of this general construction and which are now largely in -use and well understood.

It. can thus be seen that I provide a simple and inexpensive device for; the control and regulation of the ink supply in a fountain pen of this class, and that it meets all the. requirements of such a device.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a fountain pen, the combination of a handle, an ink reservoir, a presser mechanism, and a guard projecting radially outwardly. from the handle alongside of the presser mechanism.

2. In a-fountain pen, the combination of a barrel handle having an opening in its side wall, an ink reservoir within the handle, a reservoir compression mechanism within the handle having a finger piece eX- tending through said opening and beyond the outside of the handle, and a guard movably connected with the handle projecting outwardly therefrom alongside of the finger piece.

3. In a fountain pen, the combination of a barrel handle, an ink reservoir, areservoir compression mechanism having a finger piece, a finger piece protectingguard, and a sleeve connected to the base of the guard and frictionally and movably fitted to the handle.

4. In a fountain pen, the combination of a barrel handle having an opening in its side wall, an ink reservoir withm the handle, a reservoir compression mechanism within the handle having a finger piece extending outside of the handle through the openin therein, and a finger piece protecting guar secured to the handle by means of a sleeve movably fitted around the handle and the;

guard projecting radially outwardly from the handle and alongside of thefinger piece.

5. In a fountain pen, the combination of a barrel handle having an opening in its side wall, an ink reservoir withinthehandle,

a reservoir compression mechanism within the handle having a finger leoe extending- THOMAS F. GAYNOR.

Witnesses:

Gno. W. BEDFoRn, J AMES W. RAYNOR. 

